Post and Photos by: Deanna Linder

I am lucky enough to live within walking distance to my son’s pre-school, and every morning that my schedule allows, I walk him to school in his tricycle scooter. And every morning without doubt, on our way to the kindergarten, in the exact same spot, he looks at me and says the exact same sentence every time: “Mommy, I’m tired”. And every single morning I tell him to close his eyes and rest until we get there. And every night when he goes to sleep, he has the exact same routine of shutting off the light in his room, getting into bed, and then asking me for water. I bring him water and he then asks for tea. I tell him I’m going to make him tea, and he falls asleep before I even boil the water. Every night, without fail.

I’m fascinated by his consistency and comfort of repetition. He is such an easy child to raise partially due to his love of repetition; I know what to expect of him most of the time. I often wonder if other young children are the same, being a first time mother.

Although I have been no stranger to major changes (moving to Israel, career), being a mother to a child like mine has made me realize how much I myself find comfort in repetition. Nearly every Friday for the last year I have created for myself a routine. My day starts off with taking the kid to pre-school and from there I do my food shopping for the week ahead. I go to the same supermarket, and then to the local fruit and vegetable market. Right across from there is my favorite local café, Ester, where I almost always meet my dearest friends Meital and Eyal for breakfast or a coffee. From there I walk to the local butcher to pick up my meat. By then I’m ready to make my way back home.

My last stop before home is intentionally the last and also happens to be my favorite, the moment I wait for the entire week. The Markovitch cheese farm is an inspiring place all together. Aharon, the visionary behind the farm is one of the most passionate farmers I have ever met or even heard about. His passion is evident in every ounce of sheep cheese he produces, and anyone who has ever tried his cheeses has yet to differ. But even more so, his passion for his trade extends into every inch of the property.

I intentionally allot a good 30 minutes to my stop at Markovitch, because once you enter the quaint cheese shop, you can’t just buy the cheese you came to get. Every cheese is aged, and therefore every time you come, he has cheeses that are of different ages. And so, being the passionate creator he is, Aharon gives each of his customers small tastes of nearly all the types of cheese (probably around 20 all together), so they can really take in all the flavors and textures. Little cups of either dessert wine or sheep yogurt are also handed out with the cheese tasting. Sometimes I can find myself there for almost an hour.

And every Friday, I leave the shop with a bag full of delicious cheese (my favs are called the Eshed and Matar). And every Friday, with my bag of cheese in hand, I stop and take a deep breath and absorb the beauty of the surroundings- the grazing area of the sheep, a mother sheep and her lamb, the waterfall at the entrance to the shop, and I am inspired-by nature and by the environment that one can create for themselves.

By then it is time to pick up my baby from pre-school. And when I look at him after that Friday routine, I realize that although 31 years of life experiences separate us, we aren’t all that different.

The Markovitch farm is located on the Nehalim Moshav which is about 25-30 minutes’ drive from Tel Aviv, and worth every minute of the drive.

Opening hours:

Sunday-Thursday: 8:00 am-7:00 pm

Friday: 8:00 am-1:30 pm

Closed Saturdays

Address:

28 Snir Street, Nechalim

Telephone: +972-3-933-2797